


The Face Behind The "M"

by THA_THUMPP



Category: The Evil Within (Video Game)
Genre: Dom/sub, Headcanon, Includes spoilers from The Assignment & The Consequence DLC, M/M, Mobius (The Evil Within), One Shot, Plot Twists
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-05
Updated: 2015-06-05
Packaged: 2018-04-01 10:09:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4015750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/THA_THUMPP/pseuds/THA_THUMPP
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Detective Sebastian Castellanos has a very dark secret. Ruvik knows what it is, and Sebastian himself will remember it soon enough.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Face Behind The "M"

**Author's Note:**

> Our personal headcanon way back when first starting The Assignment DLC. The idea kind of shattered after finishing The Consequence, but still, it would've been such an awesome twist for the game... Yes? No? Maybe? Either way, we seriously couldn't let it go, so voila.
> 
> We're not sticking to the script on this one XD prepare to be mind blown.

_“I know who you are…_ **_Seb._ ** _”_

Ruvik’s voice is dour, threatening, and as approaching as the darkness behind him. Sebastian’s world stills in the face of it. He can’t move. Suspense has him by the legs and the birdcage elevator by position. He’s trapped where he is, forced to stare into Ruvik’s widening eyes and to watch in awe as a surge of mental energy warps through the cell-like doors between them like an invisible hand. The bars creak and groan loudly at the pressure, soon to be ripped clean from the hinges as if the material itself holds no weight. A muted clang indicates the collapse of the torn metal against the cement foundation of the floor they’re suspended on and the sound ends quick, like it’s a punctuation of the moment.

Sebastian hears the conclusion, but just barely, for the pulsing of his heart is too distracting, the volcanic heat coursing through his veins too hot, and the pain inside his cerebral cortex too much. It feels like there’s something unraveling in the back of his mind, some strong force that’s dislodging his six senses from one another and making him unable to discern the difference between what’s physical and what’s astral. It’s confusing. His eyes see Ruvik in front of him one minute, there in the midst of taking a step forward in bare feet while moving his mouth in anticipation of another line of dialogue, and then the surroundings suddenly glitch within the millimeter of a second and Ruvik’s gone, image lost within a new setting… a room.

It’s a space that envelopes the environment without warning, holding like an instant frozen in time, and Sebastian can see everything as though it’s right in front of him. Most decoratively is the holey structure prearranged against the back wall, which looks like some kind of maze-like sculpture built in the form of a partition. There’s even a repressive light glaring past the network of square holes, shimmering with the same illuminative radiance of an underwater view of the sun’s rays trying to pierce like arrows into the murky depths beyond an ocean’s surface.

This place… Sebastian’s been here before, but he can’t remember when that was exactly. It’s more like a gut instinct than fact, an intuitive feeling. He’d like to think of himself as right, but just as he tries to put more thought into how this place is memorable a voice breaks through the nebulous static in his eardrums, stopping him from his internal search and from looking too deep into the past.

_“Dr. Jimenez. Thank you for coming.”_

What… Jimenez? Sebastian knows the face behind the name, but he can’t say the same about the voice speaking. No. He doesn’t recognize the tone through the other reverberations bouncing around in his head, or at least he doesn’t _think_ he does, but somehow there is a sense of familiarity to it. He can’t place it off the tip of his tongue just yet, but to be honest it almost sounds like—

_“You… uh, wanted to see me?”_

Sebastian tenses as he hears Jimenez himself speak up from behind him, voice crackling like a recording _._ Startled, he tries to turn around to face the doctor, but is met with cerebral resistance and the restriction of peripheral vision. He can’t move his head on his own free will, nor his body. He can only focus on what’s strictly in front of him – the armrest of an office chair, crossed legs, and intertwined fingers resting atop a lap of black-suited pants – all of which gives him the immediate impression that he’s looking through someone else’s eyes and into another memory. But whose?

 _“Yes. I want you to tell me more about this project of yours; STEM, was it?”_ The other voice speaks again and this time it sounds a little more invasive. Authoritative.

 _“That is correct…”_ Jimenez hesitates, obviously indecisive about saying more, but in the end his neurotic nature to please others overrules his unease. _“What would you like to know?”_

As if won over by the compliance, the office chair finally faces forward, and Sebastian soon finds his eyes falling upon a spectral-like apparition of Jimenez, ghostly appearance similar in form to what he’s already seen of young Ruben, pure then bandaged, at the Victoriano Estate.

_“First off, how does it work? What are the risks…”_

It couldn’t be h… Dammit. Who the voice belongs to almost comes to mind that time, but Sebastian gets sidetracked when a trilling mew rebounds off the high ceilings of the room from somewhere below the doctor’s waist, a section of the room obscured by the hard wood and edge of the desk in front of Sebastian.

 _“Be mindful where you put your feet.”_ The voice stresses with a directing nod. _“I don’t want you stepping on Saveen.”_

 _“Wh… Who?”_ Jimenez stutters before turning at the waist to see a cat colored in superstition jump onto the only settee in the room, the animal’s eyes and bow both a comparable shade to the fancy, red cushions she decides to perch on and purr for attention. _“Oh.”_ Jimenez clears his throat in understanding as he returns to look Sebastian in the eyes, or at least whoever was the recipient of his speech during the time this memory was originally made. _“If I may be forthright, why the sudden interest?”_

Sebastian feels the figure he’s possessing stir from the chair and watches in first person as a hand flattens in support against the surface of the wooden desk, then pushes down to help the body rise up. He catches the glimpse of a silver ring on the finger beside the pinky before it slips from his line of sight; the same side he wears his on.

 _“I’ve decided I’m going to subject myself to this ‘STEM’ of yours, alongside my partner and the rookie.”_ There are a few seconds of pacing, both hands now lifted to interpose between thoughts as the voice continues to speak. _“I want to test her, see where her loyalties lie, how useful she can be to the company.”_

 _“Do you really think that’s wise?”_ Jimenez sounds rather put off with the plan.

 _“Are you questioning my orders?”_ The voice asks darkly, movement stopping briefly.

 _“No.”_ Jimenez whispers, eyes submissively on the floor and head low. _“Not at all.”_

 _“Good…”_ The pacing starts back up, hands a little more relaxed but still flexible as a drawer is approached and opened from behind the desk. _“The reason I called you here is because I require your expertise; as a doctor. Before I enter STEM I’ll need you to subdue my memories, certain memories. This is only temporary, mind you. I can’t have this ‘ghost in the system’ learning of my true intentions. With them restrained it’ll be easier for me to conduct my investigation from the inside without being perceived as a threat… Here.”_ A confidential file is retrieved from the interior of the compartment. _“A little something for your troubles.”_

It’s tossed at Jimenez’s feet, skidding to a stop less than ten inches from his shoes, and he picks it up wearily like he suspects it harbors evidence of the extra funding he’s been using for the STEM prototype. As he opens it though, he visibly breathes easier when only finding articles stuffed loosely inside. There’s a stagnant pause as he shuffles through the contents one by one, thoroughness partially in use, and somewhere during the next couple of skims a piece of paper slips from the sleeve and flutters to the floor weightlessly.

 _“…These are?”_ Jimenez asks, and Sebastian catches a glimpse of a clipping about a fire as the doctor bends down to procure the paper.

 _“Insurance.”_ The voice clarifies, shutting the drawer. _“I want you to put those someplace where they’ll be noticed if looked for. That way if the K.C.P.D. catches wind of this experiment and suspects your involvement with us they’ll be led astray, and you’ll be spared.”_

_“Th… Thank you, but I don’t think—”_

_“Now, I’ll need a trigger.”_ A raised palm cuts Jimenez off, ignorant to the disreputable expression that follows the interruption. _“Something to wake me up if I get too deep, if I’m exposed and no longer hidden from his watchful eyes… What was his name again? That ‘associate’ of yours?”_

 _“Ruben…”_ Jimenez mumbles, trying to fight the bitterness in his tone at what’s already been done to the boy, the horror he bore witness to when walking into the Dissection Room. “ _Ruben Victoriano.”_

 _“Right. Him.”_ There’s a snap of fingers, like the end of a hypnosis session. _“When he acknowledges me, that’s when I’ll… A..wAK..en…”_

As the voice distorts and lags like it’s been streaming through a track-record all along, every source of light in the room unexpectedly clicks off in stages, farthest to closest. Accompanying the darkness that follows, the pain starts back up in the inner cortex of Sebastian’s brain, and there’s another flash of white as if signaling the termination of the memory. After that, his reality rapidly begins rewinding at a speed two times the normal rate, all the way back until Ruvik emerges from the shadows beyond the elevator doors and repeats his line, which’s when everything evens out enough for Sebastian to hear a word that sets his timeline back in motion.

 _“…_ **_Seb._ ** _”_

The birdcage doors fly off the hinges again like déjà vu, collapsing punctually with their stumpy clang and staying true what’s already been seen. Except at the same time, something’s off. The encounter feels somewhat different than when Sebastian first experienced it, less foreboding, and by the time the tattered cloth of Ruvik’s coat simply flutters on the after-breeze of the attack and Ruvik takes that forthcoming step, Sebastian’s breathing is more controlled. It’s a sudden transformation for someone who looked about ready to go weak in the knees two seconds ago, but with Ruvik so focused on crowing what he’s discovered like blackmail, he doesn’t notice the switch in persona until it’s too late.

“Alright, you got me.” Sebastian says, head down, face hidden, and voice completely cured of pain. Attitude _authoritative_.

The outburst stuns Ruvik like the presence of a flame, and he halts in his strides like he’s just been exposed to one. The tone he’s hearing now, there’s something dark behind it, evil even, another aura he’s always sensed like a shadow since meeting the detective. But at present it’s more perceptible. Ruvik doesn’t like it, and as if feeling threatened he holds out a hand to silence Sebastian once and for all – for the intrusion into his world – but once he starts closing his fist like he’s imagining it around Sebastian’s neck he’s repelled. Sebastian simply chuckles the force away like it’s tickling him.

“You know who I am, and I know who you are… So let’s just cut to the chase already, Ruben Victoriano.”

With that said, Sebastian takes a single step forward and strikes out to catch Ruvik’s hand. His fingers dig into Ruvik’s burnt and blistered flesh cruelly, acting as leverage as he forces Ruvik to his knees with a shove of immaculate strength. Ruvik goes down weakly, cringing in alertness as a torrent of darkness seeps out from the nail-like fissure in both of Sebastian’s palms like the smoldering smoke of a fire escaping through a window. His eyes widen a little from beneath his hood as Sebastian’s debonair vest and russet pants dye a vicious black in front of him, morphing easily into a suit, and as Sebastian himself slicks his bangs back to show off his sharp forehead – whatever isn’t obscured by shadows, that is.

“Mobius…” Ruvik grits out angrily, staggered at how much power Sebastian can still possess within his inner sanctum and annoyed at himself for letting it get this far. He should’ve seen this coming. He should’ve known better than to underestimate the man who had him torn limb from limb, all because he wouldn’t tell the company how to access the machine. “What do you want from me?”

Other than what’s already been taken, of course. His research.

“Nothing.” Sebastian says as he slowly lets go of Ruvik’s hand, freeing his again while still allowing the darkness to remain as a source of chains as he pushes Ruvik’s white hood back to get a better look at the burns and sutures.“I already got what I came for… Right, _here_.”

As Sebastian finishes speaking, he rips Ruvik’s head clean off in one swift motion and watches idly as the corpse disintegrates into a cascade of blood cells at his feet. A wave-like pulse results as a consequence of the breakdown and the whole world immediately convulses like an angry hive that’s been disturbed within a matter of seconds, the air echoing loudly with Ruvik’s injured scream before everything falls back to the way it should be. To normality. Polished tiles instead of corroded cement, and the chirping of birds in the sky and the honking of cars from the streets below instead of creeping silence. A few strands of sunlight even manage to shine through the huge windows of Beacon’s STEM lab, which’s where Sebastian is now, standing in the center of the room with Ruvik’s brain in hand, in front of the glass capsule he’s just pulled it from.

The exposed organ is oozing with an assortment of chemicals, looking so feeble outside of its natural state, but instead of throwing it to the ground and stepping on it with a good grind of his heel, Sebastian simply tosses it into the air and catches it with a satisfied squish.

“If only you weren’t such a child, Ruben. You could’ve been spared the house call.”

_“Administrator.”_

Sebastian turns around to see Myra walking over to him, the penny-sized pearls on the lobes of her ears glinting in the lighting of the room and jingling as she stops in front of him.

“Welcome back.”

“Myra.” Sebastian acknowledges her with a nod, as a colleague.

No matter what the marriage certificate on record at the court house says, he doesn’t really consider her his wife. Their whole relationship was just a ruse, a drawn cover identity that was to help him blend in as Sebastian Castellanos, a detective at the K.C.P.D. and a high-ranking official within Krimson City. It was necessary for his covert operation to have a past. It also gave him the leeway to stay in contact with MOBIUS while still working his double life at the precinct, _Myra’s_ _disappearance_ the case he could label as cold and pretend to obsess over even when blatantly in the company of others. He’ll file the divorce papers later.

“Did you retrieve the subject?” Myra asks, arms stiffly by her sides as she looks down to notice the pink brain in his hands.

“Here.” Sebastian tosses her the organ, which she catches with an undisgusted step, and he wouldn’t have expected any less.

Myra’s love for getting her hands dirty was the only reason they got together as a couple in the first place. She was fearless and cold, which made it easier when the time came for her to take the life of their biological daughter. Sweet Lily. She was a liability, a life that had to be destroyed in order for the ball to be set in motion. Sebastian thought he had a handle on his emotions at the time, but Lily’s death was harder on him than originally anticipated because he didn’t think he’d get so attached to her. The same could be said about Ruben, he supposes, but unlike Lily he can have another chance with him.

“When you’re done running tests on that, I want you to send it back my way.” Sebastian points at Ruvik’s brain. “There are still a few things I wish to ask of him. Have someone strengthen the firewall while you’re at it. We can’t have another malfunction like that aga— Hey!”

Sebastian snaps for the attention of a couple masked MOBIUS agents who he can see loitering around before pointing to Joseph Oda’s tub.

“Get him out of there and take him home already! He’s served his purpose for the time being.” As the agents comply, Sebastian then turns to Leslie Withers’ next. “…And put that one back in his cell while you’re at it!”

“Look at you, barking orders.” Myra says, taking a slight pleasure in how Sebastian scowls at her consorting tone. Except he should be thankful. At least she wasn’t so bold as to call him _honey_ in public. “Although are you sure all this is necessary?” She gives the brain a small shake before dropping it into a test tube another agent has brought for her. “It’s just an organ now. It’s harmless.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so quick to judge…” Sebastian glances down at the nail-shaped fissure in his left hand, feeling a light sting. “He’s still in there.”

“And when you find him?” Myra waves her agent off quietly. “What are you going to ask him?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Sebastian squints deeply as he looks out over the city, past the windows of the STEM lab, and lets the afternoon light weaken some of the shadows on his face.

It feels like eons since he’s been away from the real world, not just a measly thirty minutes, but such is the lapse of progress. If he had left things as they were, they would still be fighting Ruvik’s ghost for control of the machine, which couldn’t be tolerated. Though that doesn’t seem like it’ll be a problem anymore, and as if to relish the moment Sebastian takes a breath of fresh air. Finally, a victory for MOBIUS… his lust for power may finally pay off yet.

As for Myra’s question, he turns away from her without any consideration of an answer, because she should already know it. Every agent working for him should, for it’s routine.

 

**_Do you stand with MOBIUS?_ **

 

 

 


End file.
